2013 Massena Primitivo

Primitivo is what the Italians call the variety Zinfandel, which is revered in the Napa Valley in California. After initially trialling the UC Davis clone of Zinfandel for a few years, that produced a generous and interesting wine, but somehow just missed the mark, Massena sought Primitivo cuttings from the Puglia region of Italy and planted them on the gentle south slope of their 'Dadds' vineyard, which has yielded an excellent example of this intriguing varietal.

Superb colour saturation displaying an impenetrable inky black core with a very deep dark purple black tinged hue. Lifted spicy black cherry and black plum scents are followed by a hint of liquorice and vanillin cedar like characters. Full bodied the palate possesses rich flavours of black plum and black cherry followed by a touch of liquorice and cedar with a spicy finish and firm backbone imparted by the solid grippy tannin structure. Excellent depth with a long chewy black cherry, black plum, liquorice, cedar and spice aftertaste.